The adjustable clamp with gripping wheels generally relates to manual tire changing machinery and more specifically to a clamp that moves along a radius from a hub with wheels that grip the rim of the wheel without marring.
In bays, garages, and shops around the world, numerous motor cycle and other light vehicle tires are changed from wheels every day. During a tire change, a worn or damaged tire is removed from a wheel and a new tire is placed upon the rim. Tires have sidewalls upon both sides of the tire that extend partially towards the center. At the innermost portion of the sidewall, the tire has an encased bead. The bead is a thickened portion of the sidewall surrounding metal wire. Opposite the bead, the tread of the tire extends upwardly and outwardly from the sidewalls. On some tires, the tread and sidewalls have a flush joining such as for racing on pavement and on other tires, the tread rolls outwardly from the sidewalls and has a knobby appearance for off road racing. A wheel generally has two parallel rims that extend around the circumference of the wheel. The rims have a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the bead thus the bead requires stretching during mounting and demounting of a tire from a wheel.
Tire changing involves mounting a tire upon a wheel or removing a tire from a wheel. A common tool used in tire changing is the spoon. A spoon, a round elongated bar, has sufficient length for leverage to stretch a bead. During mounting and demounting a tire from a wheel, the rim is clamped into a fixed position upon a rack or other assembly. The Applicant holds U.S. Pat. No. 7,159,633 upon a wheel clamping assembly where the clamps with a beveled head are located at a known radius from the center of the rim. During mounting, the wheel is clamped upon a rack and one bead of the tire is placed over a rim as much as possible. The head of a spoon is then placed upon the rim to stretch the remainder of the bead onto the rim. The other side of the tire is installed in a similar manner and the tire is inflated as both beads seat upon their respective rims. For removing a tire from a wheel, the wheel is clamped again into a fixed position. The tire is partially deflated and a spoon, inserted between a bead and a rim, is then rotated toward the center of the wheel thus stretching the bead from the rim. After moving the spoon around the rim, the bead separates from the rim and the second bead undergoes the same demounting procedure.
Wheels are used on many vehicles. The after market in wheels of all kinds exceeds $5 million in annual sales. On utility vehicles, the appearance of wheels matters less so than on personal vehicles. For automobiles, motorcycles, and some boat trailers, the appearance of the wheels has high importance to the drivers. The appearance of the wheels on a vehicle becomes part of the self image of the driver. Often, people buy shiny, or novelty, wheels to customize vehicles. In particular, motorcycles have shiny wheels including the spokes and the rims. The shine upon the wheels comes from a metal alloy, or metal plating, upon the wheel, particularly the rim. Alloys and plating are readily damaged by the harder materials, that is tool steel, usually contained in shop tools and equipment. So much so, that shop tools and equipment are known to mar wheels. The owners of shiny wheels have little tolerance, both aesthetically and financially, for shop caused blemishes upon their wheels.